Music Directors and Composers

Also Called:

Choir Director,

Conductor,

Music Composer,

Music Director

What they do: Conduct, direct, plan, and lead instrumental or vocal performances by musical artists or groups, such as orchestras, bands, choirs, and glee clubs; or create original works of music.

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Arts, Audio/Video Technology & Communications

Career Cluster

What do they typically do on the job?

  • Use gestures to shape the music being played, communicating desired tempo, phrasing, tone, color, pitch, volume, and other performance aspects.
  • Direct groups at rehearsals and live or recorded performances to achieve desired effects such as tonal and harmonic balance dynamics, rhythm, and tempo.
  • Study scores to learn the music in detail, and to develop interpretations.

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include creating, designing, and making your own rules.

Dependability

Integrity

Attention to Detail

Initiative

Cooperation

Independence

Interests

Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.

Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz

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Artistic

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Enterprising

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Social

Knowledge

People who want to pursue this career have knowledge in these areas.

Arts and Humanities

  • Music, dance, visual arts, drama, or sculpture

  • English language

Education and Training

  • Teaching and course design

Engineering and Technology

  • Computers and electronics

Business

  • Customer service

Abilities

Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.

Verbal

  • Read and understand what is written

  • Communicate by speaking

Ideas and Logic

  • Come up with lots of ideas

  • Create new and original ideas

Hearing and Speech

  • Tell the difference between sounds

  • Pay attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds

Memory

  • Remember words, numbers, pictures, or steps

Skills

People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.

Basic Skills

  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions

  • Talking to others

People and Technology Systems

  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one

  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it

Problem Solving

  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Work Values

Work values describe how your core beliefs align with those commonly needed for this career.

Achievement

Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

Independence

Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

Recognition

Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.

Does this sound like something you'd like to do?

1. Do some research
  • Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
  • Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
  • Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career
2. Plan your next move

Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop